Wild salmon study: Part 4 - Deer Creek spawn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pWWXhBxNNA&t=14s


Past Kiene's Fly Shop employee, Matt Johnson, is in this video.

He lives in Red Bluff and has been working on these threatened Wild Spring Run King salmon for years.

Matt says that Deer Creek has no dams so it is a perfect habitat for these wild salmon.

He did say these fish have to come in from the ocean and make their way, 300 miles, up through the Bays, the Delta, and the

Sacramento River which are not healthy environments. When the juveniles out migrate they have to go down the Sacramento River

and the Delta too.

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Lately, he has been fly fishing with a light two-handed rod for the big wild Rainbow trout in the Sacramento River near his home.

He swings soft hackles to imitate the "trillions" of caddis in the river.

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60 years ago I lived a block from the Sacramento River just below the Zoo.

We had a big spring run of wild king salmon back then. They were 20-30 pounds and as bright as a new dime.

South of Sacramento on the river was the small town of Freeport where there was a special place to fish for them.

I think it was called Cory or Kory Bend then and now it is Freeport Bend. Driving down to Freeport you could see the boats from the

road, anchored up next to each other making rows that were 50 yards apart. These fish were as fresh and bright as ocean fish.

Most old-timers use big conventional outfits with a heavy weight and 3 leader lines at different depths with spinning sardine fillets.